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Participants:

Date:

August 19, 2010

Location:

Eastern Weyr - Upper Hatching Galleries

Synopsis:

Nenienne and Andi work on their robes, while L'han answers some questions for the curious candidates.

Rating:

G

Logger:

Andi

Eastern Weyr: Upper Hatching Galleries
The galleries appear to be rather typical for type. Long rows of benches surround the warm sands, giving the guests a clear view of the place where it all happens. Six tiers of five benches each provide plenty of room for anyone to come in and sit during Hatchings or other times. The natural warmth of the Sands wafts up into the room, making it a more popular place in wintertime, especially for those reared under the hot Southern sun. A bar runs its course around the edge of the dais, protecting one and all from a fall, or worse yet, an angry gold dragon.

Midday, and Andi has encountered the wonderful thing that is a free day - a certainly welcome relief from the dreary list of chores that usually awaits her upon waking each morning. With the Holder's daughter far from used to any sort of actual work, its clear that its beginning to wear upon her, just from the growing darkness under her eyes, and the rough spots on her hands - no matter how much of the Healer's lotion she applies. Having already had her lunch, she's retreated from the caverns to settle in the closed hatching cavern, white fabric that is likely her robe in her lap, absently watching the eggs, the weyrwoman, and the group of NPC candidates that are lingering on the Sands for a short touching, all while in between stitches, from where she's settled in the last row.

Nenienne is likewise on her restday, and has been somewhat restless. She, too, gravitates toward the hatching grounds, her unfinished robe folded over her arm. She walks slowly, her footsteps as muffled as is possible, as she climbs the steps. By way of greeting she says to Andi, in a quiet voice, "Is it any different looking at them now than it was when you were just reporting on them?"

With sewing one of the 'lady' tasks that Andromeda was raised with from a young age, a simple task such as putting in a hem requires only a part of her thoughts and concentration, and the needle passes through the fabric again and again in a neat little line, the eyes hovering on the eggs, the blue one in particular, giving it a curious look. The soft voice interrupts her silent thoughts, and she blinks up at Nenienne, tilting her head, before the question seems to make sense to her, and she offers a little smile and a nod. "I.. I have proof now that.. there's more than a pretty shell." She offers softly.

Nenienne nods thoughtfully, commenting no further on that count. Instead, she indicates a spot near Andi and asks, "Mind if I sit here?" The vast emptiness of the rest of the place indicates that the candidate is at least partially interested in company while egg-watching and sewing.

Andi blinks at the indicated spot, glancing back at Nenienne then, before shaking her head, looking rather confused. "Of.. of course not." And the young women seems slightly confused, even as she's glancing down at her robe to check her progress, needle stuck between her lips, as she carefully stretches the robe betwen her hands to check for consistancy. A slight hum, and she's going back to patiently adding small stitch after small stitch, each as neat as the one before. "Zen… He.. He told me not to touch the blue one, if.. If we're allowed down there. But.. he didn't say why."

It's a restday for candidates, and two of them have availed themselves of the chance to look at eggs while sewing their robes. Neni is one of them, and she glances at the clutch as she sits near Andi. "Did he say which blue one?" she asks, thoughtfully.

"Just.. The blue one. In this clutch.." She offers with a little inclination of her head at the group of eggs settled there on the sands, lips pursing slightly as she replies Zen's words. "I.. I think he.. He meant it was unnerving." She considers, before shaking her head a little bit, bending to put her attention to the last stretch of hem needing to be completed. Eyes dart up now and then at the Sands, thoughts likely running, even as she sits quiet, before she glances at Nenienne, mouth opening and closing before she's shaking her head and dismissing whatever it was she was going to say.

Now that the grounding has been lifted since the clutches have been laid, a certain greenrider decided to see the clutches for himself and so he comes into the gallery, being very mindful not to be seen by Kaseth. His gaze looks over the eggs, counting them, before he gves a quirky little smile before he looks over to the candidates, giving a wave to them. "Hello. How are you both doing today?"

Nenienne considers this, then points to the Lapis and the Starlight eggs. "I just meant the darker or the paler blue one? I touched that one that sometimes looks like it has a star on it, and it wasn't too bad. I would say avoid the sharp-looking one — that was the most unpleasant for me." She gives a polite nod to the greenrider and says "Doing well — not even getting any blood on my robe yet today."

"He.. He didn't say." Andi reiterates softly at Nenienne as she offers the differences, shaking her head a little with a wrinkle of her nose. "I.. Maybe I'll avoid both of them." She offers as the most viable solution, at least to her, glancing back at the eggs. And then, her thoughts are once again interrupted by the presence of another visitor, and she's offering a pleasant little bob of the head, manners coming easily to the Boll Holder's daughter. "Good afternoon, sir.." She murmurs, even as she's expertly tying off the end of the thread currently in use.

L'han looks at the robes the two candidates are working on and nods, "I remember when I was a candidate." He looks out across the clutch again and says, "Lots of new dragons soon. And hopefully all will come through alright." He leaves the railing and comes over to where they're sitting and asks, "Mind if I join you both? I just got back from Landing and my green is currently terrorizing the herdbeasts."

Nenienne's usual frown changes to a somber frown at L'han's words. In a solemn voice she says, "I hope they all come through as well." In response to his question she says "I have no problem with it, but you might get poked if you sit next to me." She's still frowning, but her voice has a hint of mischief in it, "I'm not yet used to this whole "sewing" thing."

Fingers deftly pluck the pins from the finished hem, sticking each in turn to a small pincushioned settled in her lap, running her fingers swifting over the fabric to determine if she missed any. Slowly, she folds the robe back up into a neat square, settling it upon her lap as she gives an awkward smile to the greenrider. "Of.. Of course not sir." She murmurs hurriedly, giving Nenienne a long look at her quick reply.

L'han laughs and says, "You'll be fine. It just takes awhile." He settles down next to Nenienne and asks, "Any ideas on what color you think you'll Impress if you do?" He looks out over the clutch again before he looks over to Andi as well, curious about what either candidate thinks.

Nenienne nods distractedly as she very slowly stitches one piece of cloth to the other. The two pieces already have holes in them, as if she's torn out a set or three of prior stitchings. She appears to be taking great care not to stab herself this time. "I'm not sure, sir. Especially with that lost green…" she trails off, then says "I know it wouldn't be bronze, and if there is a gold she'll probably go to one of the Lady Holders. I was searched by a blue, so maybe that means something. And I don't know that I'm the correct, um, type for a brown. So I guess it's a long way of saying that if I impress, it will be blue or green. I'm not getting my hopes up for either, though."

Hands fold primly on top of the neatly folded robe, Andi sitting quite straight as she listens to Nenienne's reasoning, blushing a bit at the mention of the the Lady Holders Impressing gold. Eyes drop to her lap, clearing her throat a little, a sheepish little smile lingering on her lips as she does finally lift her gaze. "I.. I haven't given it much thought, sir.." She admits in a quiet voice. "I.. I think Zen thinks.. Thinks it'll be green."

L'han glances at Andi at her blush, raising an eyebrow, but he nods, "Green or blue are good colors, they're the main dragons in a Weyr, despite all the pomp everyone puts on the Golds and Bronzes. My green, Escaeth is very smart and a very fast dragon. I wouldn't trade her for any other color." He smiles looking back towards the eggs, "Oh, is it true that we have a Lady Holder here that skipped out on her own wedding? I heard something to that effect before the queens stopped all travel."

Nenienne says, "Escaeth is a pretty name." She also nods at L'han's question, her frown remaining but her expression neutral overall. "Yes, Lady Isilna is here, sir. Or rather, just Isilna now, I guess. She's one of the candidates."

"She.. She chose to disobey, sir. Her.. Her sister is the Lady Holder now." Andi offers in a soft voice, with a little half-smile to the greenrider, with a slight nod of her head. "They.. They took her in, afterwards." First hand explanation, doesn't get much better than that. Andi shifts a little, one leg gathered underneath her for a moment before she's remember her location and its hurriedly dropping back down to the floor. "I… I've heard they say.. That.. That the dragons know best."

L'han tilts his head as his eyes slightly go unfocused and he nods back to Nenienne. "She says thank you. Maybe I'll show you her later if you'd like. She's eating right now." Not the best time to see a dragon. He looks back to Andi when she explains Isilna's fate and nods, "I see. Well I'm sure there's a story or something behind it. Don't think Eastern would have searched her without some good cause, but she's certainly welcome at any rate. Need all the riders we can get. And yeah, they do. Some say we keep them out of trouble and others say its them that keeps us out of trouble."

Nenienne says, "I think I would like that. Even eing in a Weyr, I haven't met many dragons close up. I probably should try to do so just in case." She just nods at the comment about needing riders. Then a thought occurs and she asks, "How old do dragons need to be before they start fighting thread?"

"Yes, sir.. A.. A not good one, though." Andi offers oh-so-helpfully, the Lady holder-candidate falling quiet as L'had speaks of the reasons for search, and the need for riders. Nenienne's response receives a curious look, before she too is looking to L'han for the answer, the bit of trivia certainly catching her interest.

L'han nods to Nenienne as she asks her question. "They reach their full growth at two Turns of age. However they can start fighting Thread as soon as they can fly, flame, and between. But Weyrs differ on when they start the young ones fighting Thread. Some do so as soon as they can, some wait till they are fully grown, and others have their own requirements. Here… It'd be up to Alara and J'cobi to decide when the new riders would be ready. We won't have to worry about it for awhile yet since Southern is covering us from Thread, but that won't last forever." He takes a breath from explaining and says, "Feel free to ask any questions you like regarding dragons. I may not be able to answer all, but I know quite a bit."

Nenienne pricks apparently pricks herself, though the look of relief on her face indicates it wasn't enough to cause her to bleed. After sucking on her finger for a few seconds she resumes sewing. At L'han's offer her face lights up briefly, even if her frown is as set as ever. Aloud, she says gratefully, "Thank you, sir. There hasn't been much spare time to learn about that."

Andi is slowly counting the months to two full turns, eyes widening a little as she does so, shaking her head with a little wince. A look that's quickly hidden, she's shaking her head with a little sigh as she listens. "I.. I will, sir. Thank you." She murmurs, though it seems its an opportunity she's leaving all to Nenienne for the time being.

L'han nods as he shifts in his seat, replying, "There will be plenty of time to learn. During the months while your dragon grows you'll learn all you need to take care of him or her. Eventually they can take mostly good care of themselves, but then other responsibilities come in. It's a busy first Turn, but I've never met a rider that regrets it." He smiles and says, "Oh, my name is L'han. No need for sir… not unless I'd be named Weyrlingmaster, but I -highly- doubt that would happen."

Nenienne finishes the painstakingly slow progress on one side of the two-pieces-of-cloth robe, then ties it off and rethreads her needle to begin on the other side. "Yes si… I mean, L'han. Thank you. Though I'm afraid I'll call you sir by default since I can't keep all the riders straight." At least she's keeping the line straight on her sewing. She doesn't ask any questions about riding… yet.

"I.. I hope so." Andi murmurs softly, before she's glancing at the sands once more, and then down at the pile of fabric in her lap. Slowly gathering it up, she offers a little smile to each in turn. "I… I promised I'd help someone with their robe.. I should.. should go meet them." She offers in excuse, bobbing her head to each of them as she excuses herself. "Good.. Good afternoon, sir. Miss." And she's slipping out of the seat and hurriedly down the stairs.

L'han waves to Andi as she heads on out and then looks back to Nenienne and says, "It's ok. You figure out most of who is who eventually or if you don't then you likely don't see them that often." He looks at her needlework and nods as it's looking just fine to him and he asks, "What have they asked you to do as a candidate so far?"

Nenienne nods to Andi, adding, "That's kind of you. And I'm Neni, not miss." There's dfinitely humor in her tone at the last. As she continues sewing she tells L'han, "Mucking stables, fertilizing the herdbeast field, latrines, digging and hauling stones at the lake, smoothing out part of the bowl, nanny duty, helping various riders with tasks, helping Headwoman Indira, finding objects weyrwoman Randi has lost, laundry, and one time, finding some laundry before it was washed."

L'han nods and says, "Common tasks for the candidates." He blinks though when she mentions Randi losing stuff and he raises a eyebrow, "The Weyrwoman can't keep track of her things?" He turns and looks over the clutch once more before he nods and says, "Well, Escaeth's done eating so I'd best get back to Landing. It was nice to meet you Neni… I hope you find a soulmate here in our clutches." He smiles as he stands and stretches heading that way for the door.

Nenienne shakes her head, not answering the question aloud, though she does say, "Thank you for answering the questions, and for your offers to see Escaeth and get more answers. Clear skies to you and Escaeth." She doesn't quite smile, but does blush faintly when he mentions impression.